Local environmental issues

Plans for bicycle infrastructure

April 1, 2010

By Farrah Plummer

Upfield Path. Source: Farrah Plummer

Following the Super Tuesday count on March 2, Moreland Bicycle User Group (BUG) is set to build new bike infrastructure in Moreland.
Findings from the count by Moreland City Council signal towards an increase of cyclers in Brunswick with intersections such as the Upfield Path and Brunswick Road intersection up by 33 per cent from the 2008 count.

Source: Moreland City Council

At the Edinburgh Castle last Thursday, BUG met with Moreland City Council Traffic Officer, Nicholas Elliot about updating a bike plan almost ten years old.

Paths up for revision include the Merri Creek Path and the Upfield Path. There is also a proposal for the East Brunswick Shimmy.

Mr. Elliot said the council was revising the plan and hoped it would accommodate the rising number of cyclists in Moreland.

“The Upfield Path is definitely under capacity for the amount of people that are using it,” he said.

Mr. Elliot said the council would like to widen the Upfield Path but the path can’t get any closer to the train tracks and the property line on the other side of the tracks can’t be used.

“We’re looking at widening it in a number of places for short sections, maybe fifty to one-hundred metres where we can just allow people to pass,” he said.

Deputy Convener of BUG, Ross Millward, said the paths weren’t built in accordance with cycling trends.

“These paths were not built with much of an eye for the future and with not much generosity and spirit because they could be widened,” he said.

Mr. Millward said the problem with the Upfield and Merri Creek paths is that they accommodate both cyclists and pedestrians, leaving not much passing room.

“I think it’s been a mistake to think that there should only be one path for there is room in lots of places to sort of separate those activities,” he said.

But Mr. Elliot said he doesn’t want the Merri Creek path to be a recreational path.

“I’m not in favour of lots of commuting happening on the Merri Creek path. I think we need to build better routes on roads so that people won’t cycle so much on the Upfield Path and the Merri Creek Path,” he said.